‘Positive’ thinkers enjoy better old age, finds study

Growing old is an inevitable fact of life – but some people grow old, grumpy and disillusioned; while others retain a light-hearted, optimistic outlook and a youthful zest for life.

It may seem obvious that much depends on mental attitude - those who age best, maintaining a sunny outlook and a mind that gets sharper with age, are positive thinkers who avoid needless fret and worry. But now, a study by University of Hamburg scientists has found a scientific basis for this belief.

The study, published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, finds that those who age ''successfully'' have a positive outlook to life and prefer emotionally gratifying experiences.

It discovered that that focusing your brain on positive thoughts, and living for the moment rather than looking too far into the future, can help maintain good mental health.

The researchers studied the ''positivity effect'' by using neuro-imaging to evaluate brain engagement in young and old adults while they performed a specialised cognitive task that included supposedly irrelevant pictures of either neutral, happy, sad or fearful faces.

During parts of the task when they didn't have to pay as much attention, the elderly subjects were significantly more distracted by the happy faces.